


outcast angels

by displayheartcode



Category: The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Book 2: City of Ashes, Character Study, Clary Fray-centric, Gen, Introspection, No Dialogue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-24 22:41:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22365673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/displayheartcode/pseuds/displayheartcode
Summary: Clary takes a moment to study the Voyance rune on the back of her hand.
Kudos: 5





	outcast angels

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been rereading a lot of YA books from my own middle school/high school years (Beautiful Creatures, The Mortal Instruments, Dead Beautiful, Vampire Academy, and etc.), and this came to mind.
> 
> This takes place during City of Ashes, during part two after Jace is released from the Silent City.

Moonlight spilled inside the compartment as the train led on. Even at such a late hour, the train was empty enough for Clary to take any seat of her choosing. Her hands no longer felt weightless, but just as heavy as the rest of her limbs at the memory of blood fanned over the stone walls.

 _Mom, who am I?_ Clary thought again and pulled away from the fingerprint-smudged window. She touched the edges of the rune, no longer feeling any pain. She dragged her fingers alongside the lines and curves, letting the shape fill her mind. None of them had any time to think, just Clary demanding Isabelle to mark her before they could leave without her. The fear of Jace alone in the Silent City. The blood her father had spilled. Time had been of the essence.

Unlike the mark Jace had given her after the Ravener attack, this one was as stark and black as if it was imprinted on more than just her skin.

Unconsciously, Clary’s gaze slid down and she turned her hand over. On the inside of her wrist was a faint scar of overlapping circles, barely noticeable in the moonlight. She recalled the memories of her mom, now clear without Magnus’ spell. There had been pale scars dotting her freckled skin like snow, all just as strange and familiar as the ones she now recognized on the other Shadowhunters. The ones burned into the steps of the Institute. The scrollwork of runes inlaid in the Mortal Cup. Whispers in the back of her mind ever since Magnus held the Gray Book out to her. It was like some door in the back of her mind was now open and there was no way of ignoring it.

The train made an incomprehensible sound. The city outside the compartment window went by in a blur of metallic silvers and glass. Clary’s mouth went dry at the memory of Jace taking her over the East River. Above in the sky, she had seen the glint of the Fair Folks’ wings by the Brooklyn Bridge, signs of the Shadow World with Luke’s pack moving in the alleyways of Chinatown, the vampires in the ruined hotel in the Upper East Side, the warlocks with their magic sparking around their hands in the bright light of day.

 _And I can see it now._ Clary touched the Voyance Rune. She knew now she was joined with the Shadow World, that she couldn’t go to class in St. Xavier’s with a stele in her pocket. All of the careful work her mom had placed to protect her from the monsters, the Nephilim and the Downworlders had ended in this: Clary with the words of Heaven inscribed on her skin, her mom unconscious in a hospital room, a brother under surveillance and her father seeking vengeance. There was no way Clary was going to walk out of this unchanged. _I’m sorry, Mom._

The train stopped. Clary made her way to the platform. She pulled her hoodie over her tangled curls and tugged her sleeves down to cover her hands _. But whatever I am_ , she thought, _I hope it’s enough._


End file.
